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Larry Reed: “…if you take my definition, then the key difference is the end objective. Financial inclusion seeks to make sure that everyone has access to useful financial tools, while microfinance wants to make sure that the use of those tools leads to positive benefits for those living in poverty. Under this definition, microfinance links in with other development needs, like health, education, housing, and access to markets. It is concerned to see how the delivery of financial services can help clients address other aspects of their lives that keep them trapped in poverty.

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I think it is time to get beyond the tired old notion that holistic programs must be small and insignificant in scale… If we look to include all, and at the same time do it in a way that makes sure that the poor have products and services that help them move out of poverty (beyond quality to actual results), then we end up developing synergies between financial institutions, government transfer payments, mobile platforms, and other development providers. This is the sort of financial inclusion that I get excited about.”

The Financial Inclusion 2020 campaign at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion is building a movement toward full financial inclusion by 2020. This blog series spotlights financial inclusion efforts around the globe, shares insights from the FI2020 consultative process and highlights findings from “Mapping the Invisible Market.”

Excerpts from a conversation between Susy Cheston, Center for Financial Inclusion, and Larry Reed, Director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign. Susy writes:

Hi Larry,

Visa hosted a terrific webinar to launch the Financial Inclusion 2020 campaign a couple of weeks ago, and we promised to answer some of the questions we didn’t get to in our blog. Number one question: What’s the difference between microfinance and financial inclusion? I thought I would take a stab at that one, after having started in “microenterprise development” in 1991, progressed to “microcredit” in the mid-90’s, then “microfinance” in the late 90’s, and now heading…

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Howdy! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!